Fantasyland: "The Wire," Week 17

If your fantasy team is still playing, congratulations and good luck! But the question for your league commissioner is, "Why are you still playing?"

Week 17 of the NFL's regular season, for most real-life teams, is the most meaningless game of the year. It's kind of like the Pro Bowl: It's kind of fun to watch, to see which stars are going to be playing and whether they'll give 100 percent effort, or whether they'll just mail it in, go through the motions, and head for the house.

Which is hardly the circumstances you want when your fantasy team is going for its league championship.

Many of the top stars that got you this far into the playoffs, won't be playing this weekend. They've already clinched a playoff spot and will be resting and recuperating for the more meaningful games yet to come.

Other teams, that were locked out of the playoffs long ago, are liable to try bizarre experiments with their lineups, trying to get a glimpse of what next year's team might look like.

Those that are playing are more liable to already be looking forward to the offseason and avoiding an injury that might spoil their trip to Bali or Mazatlan

The point is, fantasy football championships should be decided in Week 16 (or even Week 15), because there's too much on the line for your title to be decided in Week 17 by third-stringers who haven't played all year.

Talk to your commissioner, start a petition drive, do whatever you have to do so that come next season, your league will have crowned its champion before the silliness of Week 17 rolls around.

FINISH STRONG

That said, if you're still playing, you've got to finish the hand you were dealt -- and hopefully walk away with the priceless honor of an entire offseason's worth of bragging rights for having won your league title.

Towards that goal, Week 16 injuries created opportunities for somebody to cash in off the waiver wire heading into Week 17.

"THE WIRE," WEEK 17

RUNNING BACKS

Injuries to Pittsburgh's Willie Parker and Baltimore's Willis McGahee may have cost me a league championship, but they might actually help you win yours, if you pick up their backups.

The Steelers' Najeh Davenport is the top prize on this week's Wire, having rumbled for a total of 167 yards and two touchdowns last week after replacing Parker. Davenport is a bit of a mystery wrapped up in an enigma: He's big (6-1, 247), surprisingly quick, and talented. Yet he always seems to wind up in the doghouse, or some stranger's closet -- like he did in college at the U. of Miami.

The Ravens' Musa Smith could be a positive pickup, although Baltimore's offense is terrible.

Also worth picking up are the Giants' Ahmad Bradshaw, the unknown 5-foot-9 rookie out of Marshall who came out of nowhere to run for 151 yards last week and will be filling in for Brandon Jacobs this week; and T.J. Duckett of the Lions, who stepped up when Kevin Jones went down with a knee injury, netting 102 yards and a TD.

QUARTERBACKS

The Dolphins' Cleo Lemon may not be Miami's quarterback of the future, but he's had a fairly hot hand lately and this Sunday the 1-14 Fins go against the bungling Bengals.

Damon Huard of the Chiefs is perhaps the most erratic QB in the league, horrible one week, fantastic the next. With Brodie Croyle hurt, which Huard will show up Sunday against the Jets?? It's anybody's guess, but against the Jets, he might be worth the risk.

WIDE RECEIVERS

If Huard does have a good day, Dwayne Bowe almost certainly will as well. Perhaps the league's top rookie wideout, especially in recent weeks, Bowe could well duplicate his numbers of last week: 8 catches, 97 yards and 1 touchdown.

Even though he has somehow racked up 1140 yards on 78 receptions this season, I still find it hard to recommend Roddy White of the Falcons. But it's hard to argue with those numbers and Roddy gets such little notoriety that he's liable to still be available in your league.